Articles by Sam Volpe

Technology

North East nursery worker bounced back from post-natal depression to land 'job I was born for'

A Tyneside mum has dealt with post-natal depression and bounced back to become a nursery worker - a job she described as "what I was born for". Iranian born Taraneh Jahani, 38, gained her qualifications thanks to support from the WEA adult education charity and the Riverside Community Project in the city. She told ChronicleLive how the course she had undertaken there had changed her life. Taraneh said: "I have been living in Newcastle for about ten years. I used to be a care worker. I loved that sort of job - helping others. But then I had some health problems and had to stop working. "I had my son and was very depressed, and had come out of an unhealthy relationship, all while not having family around. I had many challenges and my life was not easy. But I wanted to be strong for my son, to show him that I could step up for him, change his life and change my own life. My son is waiting for an autism assessment and that has been challenging too. "And so this [course] was also a way of learning more about how to support him. I asked his nursery manager how could I get a job in like this, and recommended the WEA at Riverside Community Project." This is what she did. Taraneh went along to the course - and she then went on placement at a local nursery. She said she had loved it. "I thought it would be perfect for me," she said. "It helped me to find out all about my potential." Our ChronicleLive Daily newsletter is free. You can sign up to receive it here . It will keep you up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East. Taraneh found her confidence boosted and she loved being on placement - and she said she was able to use her crafting skills to great effect. She said: "It was part of the assessment to prepare an activity about healthy eating and they were really impressed. It was making all the foods out of The Very Hungry Caterpillar - they loved the idea and the craft behind it. And that helped my confidence - I really thought 'this is something I can do'." Though she didn't accept - she wanted to work in a bigger nursery as she now does at the Co-Op Little Pioneers nursery in Newcastle city centre . She said she was delighted with this - and that it had really helped her to understand her son. She added: "This is the job I was born for." The WEA is a national educational charity with "a mission to bring lifelong learning within reach of everyone who needs it, fighting inequality and promoting social justice". To find a course near you visit wea.org.uk . ChronicleLive has created a dedicated WhatsApp community for breaking news and our biggest stories. You can join this WhatsApp community here . It will keep you up-to-date with news as it breaks and our top stories of the day sent directly to your phone.